Scottish devolution: Holyrood to get control of tax rates and benefits November 26, 2014 Scotland is to be able to set different tax rates to the rest of the UK after Labour dropped its opposition to the changes. The changes came with the reluctant blessing of Eds Miliband and Balls, although the latter is understood to have insisted that Westminster retain control of the personal allowance, the threshold below [...]
Harriet Green told a conference last week that Thomas Cook’s transformation is “absolutely not done” November 26, 2014 What's going on with Harriet Green's departure? The Thomas Cook chief executive announced today she is stepping down with immediate effect because, she said, "my work here is done". Her transformation of Thomas Cook's fortunes has certainly been extraordinary – shares were languishing around 15p when she joined in 2012. Today, they were trading at [...]
GoPro is going to start making drones November 26, 2014 GoPro is to start manufacturing consumer drones, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The American company, which is already a market leader in personal cameras, markets its product as being able to take pictures in extreme situations. In many ways therefore the sky is the obvious next target for GoPro, especially as [...]
Ex-MI6 chief says criticism of Facebook over Lee Rigby murder is unjustified November 26, 2014 Facebook has gained support from an unlikely source. Richard Barrett, the former global anti-terrorism director of MI6, has said that in his opinion it is unreasonable to expect Facebook to vet conversations for terrorist content and then report them. A report published this week said that an internet site, understood to be Facebook, had hosted [...]
Black Friday UK 2014: 5 of the worst Amazon lightning deals savvy shoppers have not been waiting for November 26, 2014 Everyone loves a bargain, but there are some things that scream “rather not” than “must have”. Among quite a few decent deals on expensive tech and electrical items, some of Amazon’s early flash deal Black Friday treats are, well, a little underwhelming, let’s say. Here are five of the least exciting deals waiting for you [...]
Black Friday 2014: From Uranium ore to free guns – five of the weirdest US Black Friday deals November 26, 2014 The US takes its Christmas shopping seriously. Black Friday, the day US shoppers traditionally pull themselves out of their Thanksgiving-induced food comas and hit the high street, was worth $12.3bn (£7.8bn) last year. And while some of the discounts retailers make to entice shoppers are pretty extreme (Walmart, for instance, is selling iPads for $199, [...]
Report: Regulation will not be enough to save our retail banking sector – it might need a complete restructure November 26, 2014 Tighter regulation won't be enough save Britain's retail banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis, according to experts involved in an investigation into the sector's decline. Conducted by the think tank New City Agenda and CASS Business School, the report reveals how the UK's four main retail banks are continuing to lose customer [...]
GDP growth sticks at 0.7 per cent in the third quarter November 26, 2014 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today confirmed its estimate for GDP growth between the second and third quarters, leaving growth at 0.7 per cent. The figure is a fall from the previous quarter's 0.9 per cent growth, although that had been expected. The statistics authority added that between the third quarter of last year [...]
In charts: Spending on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Manic Monday to peak at £470k per minute November 26, 2014 Retailers including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Amazon and Currys PC World are gearing up for what are tipped to be some of the biggest shopping days of the year. The retailers have unveiled a whole range of deals on everything from electricals like TVs, tablets and other gadgets to designer watches, clothing and [...]
Passengers push-start frozen-up plane in Russia November 26, 2014 Most of us are used to giving our cars a bit more TLC than usual on a frosty morning. But a group of passengers at Russia's Igarka airport, just above the Arctic Circle, had to give their plane a push after its brakes froze up. The Siberian Times reported that passengers on the UTair service to [...]